Longo Probed Often In Past

John Joseph Longo, 35, is a , beefy man with a knack for gaining others` trust.

He dresses well, plays golf, drives a gray Mercedes Benz, and laughs easily, his acquaintances say, even if he occasionally bursts into moments of violent rage.

``You might say I`m a broker,`` Longo said in 1981. ``I broker (of) gemstones. I`m also in the real estate business,`` he said.

Longo`s latest venture in the real estate business was with a company named First Mortgage Trust, where he used the name John Long. The company has been accused of defrauding its investors out of more than half a million dollars.

Longo has declined to be interviewed about his business dealings, but voluminous court records give some of the background of the man state officials say ran and controlled First Mortgage Trust.

For example:

(BU) Longo owes $3.1 million to the family of a Maitland gem dealer who convinced a jury that Longo swindled him out of hundreds of precious stones.

(BU) Longo was the subject of an attempted extortion and shooting incident in 1980, during which he used a chrome-plated shotgun to break a man`s arm.

(BU) He is being sued by a former big-time smuggler who claims Longo and a band of thugs shot him with an electronic stun gun, then stole his home, an automobile and $1 million in jewels in 1983.

(BU) Felony weapons charges pending against Longo in 1982 were dropped after he helped the Broward State Attorney`s Office investigate and convict a man who claimed he could get Longo off the hook by bribing a county judge.

(BU) Longo was involved in a chain of real estate transactions in which a forged mortgage document was used, leading to a $108,000 title insurance payoff early this year.

Several of these transactions and lawsuits involve people, property and relationships currently at issue in the state`s investigation of First Mortgage Trust.

Longo had his first serious brush with the law in Dade County in 1975, where he was convicted on a federal drug charge and attempted robbery. He was placed on probation for those crimes.

Asked last month whether he had a criminal record, Longo said flatly, ``No.``

``I have been in the private sanitation business (in Dade County) and also the restaurant business and have worked for the Teamsters Union,`` Longo said in a deposition taken several years ago.

For someone who never finished college -- he attended junior college in Dade County -- Longo has an extensive understanding of business, real estate, and law, those who know him say.

Before going to work for First Mortgage Trust early in 1984 -- he claims he was the firm`s office manager -- Longo said he was a self-employed gem broker who operated from a post office box.

John H. Glassdd of Maitland met him four years ago, when Longo answered a newspaper ad seeking someone who would accept gems in trade for a home. Glass, who since has died, had sold his nursing home business and retired, investing most of his profits in precious stones which he bartered and sold.

His business arrangement with Longo quickly became more complicated than the house-for-gem swap originally planned, however.

``When was it that you started to distrust Mr. Longo?`` a lawyer asked Glass while taking testimony in a lawsuit Glass filed seeking to get his money back.

Glass responded: ``When he put a gun on the table and told me he was from the Mafia.``

In his lawsuit, Glass claimed that through the course of several deliveries, Longo received about $2.7 million worth of rubies, sapphires, diamonds and other gems he was supposed to sell in Glass`s behalf.

The gems included the bulk of Glass`s life savings and some on consignment from a friend.

Glass later testified that Longo made his only payment at a nearly-deserted end of Miami International Airport`s terminal. It consisted of a briefcase with that day`s Miami Herald inside, Glass said.

``It was supposed to be a million dollars,`` said Glass`s son, Thomas.

Later, when Glass continued his effort to collect payment, Longo pulled a gun to get the upper hand, Glass said.

Although Longo denied it in his answer to the suit, Glass said Longo summoned him alone to his Fort Lauderdale home for a meeting on Sept. 2, 1980. Glass said Longo pulled out a weapon to frighten him into preparing a document that showed Glass had turned over only $30,000 worth of gems to Longo on a consignment basis.

Glass contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after the incident, but no charges against anyone resulted from the agency`s investigation.

Angry that law enforcement officials were unable to retrieve his gems or file a criminal charge, Glass decided to sue. By July 29, 1982, Broward Circuit Judge Barbara Bridge had signed an order awarding Glass a total of $3.1 million. It included $500,000 in punitive damages against Longo, whom the jury found intentionally had taken the gems with intent not to pay for them.

But Glass never recovered a cent. After nearly a year of trying to collect, he committed suicide in March 1983.